*What would Turtle, Drama, Vince and E think of Steve Harvey’s book “Think Like a Man?”
“I think similar to the movie, the guys in ‘Entourage’ would’ve been horrified that this book exists and would’ve looked at [Harvey] like a traitor,” says Jerry Ferrara, who starred as Turtle in the Showtime series and currently portrays the love interest of Gabrielle Union in “Think Like a Man.”
The actor, who has lost over 55 pounds since his Turtle days, is no stranger to playing a character down with the swirl; Turtle famously dated the daughter of an auto repair shop owner – a character played by Lauren London. [Watch one of their memorable scenes below.]
In a sit down with the two, Union and Ferrara said it was refreshing that their skin colors were never part of the film’s storyline.
“I think what we both responded to was that it was totally not addressed,” said Union. “And it was one of the first times in my career where it was truly colorblind casting. None of the characters were race-specific. I think there was an assumption going in – because it was a Will Packer movie and a Tim Story-directed film and a book written by a black man – that everyone was gonna be black. But they didn’t go into casting it that way, which they absolutely could’ve and no one would’ve thought twice about it.”
In the audio below, Union talks more about the colorblind casting, and why she refused initial offers to play Lauren, the “professional woman” portrayed by Taraji P. Henson.
“Entourage” was on HBO, not Showtime.